Boat anchor hoist



Oct. 18, 1966 R. ELLls 3,279,413

BOAT ANCHOR HOIST Filed Jan. 7, 1965 I I! IIIIIIIIIIII! (ll III/III!III] 2:22: IIIIIIIIII'IA I a I IIIIIII/I/I/II/IIIII(III/III INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,279,413 BOAT ANCHOR HOIST Robert Ellis, SolanaBeach, Calif., assignor to Robert E. Peterson, Downey, Calif. Filed Jan.7, 1965, Ser. No. 424,024 13 Claims. (Cl. 114-210) This application isan improvement over my prior application Serial No. 397,192.

This invention relates to boat anchor hoists and the principal object ofthe invention is the provision of means for keeping the deck of the boatclear of the usual anchor and attached rope by hauling the anchor andrope below deck, all with a single manipulation of the anchor rope fromany prescribed location on the boat.

Other and further objects will appear in the specifications and bespecifically pointed out in the appended claims, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings exemplifying the invention in which;

FIG. 1 is a top view of the mechanism while the anchor is being cast outor hauled in.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section of FIG. 1 on the line 22 thereof.

FIG. 3 is an isometric diagram of the integral extending arms androtatable shaft.

Referring to the drawings in which like characters and numerals ofrefence refer to similar parts throughout the several views, the numeral7 denotes the bow of the boat 6 and 8 is the deck thereof. A pilot house9 may or may not be included on the boat, a combined steering wheel andreel 10, such as described in my Patent #3,068,828, being preferablylocated therein. A short transverse shaft 12 is located at the bow ofthe boat below deck 8, this shaft being rotatably mounted betweenbearings 11, comprising two ang-les as illustrated. Welded at rightangles to shaft 12 is the vertically disposed pulley arm 15 and at rightangles to pulley arm 15 is welded the horizontal forwardly disposedanchor :arm 14, this anchor arm 14 being preferably slightly longer thanpulley arm 15, with the anchor arm extending a short distance, slightlymore than half the width of the circular anchor fluke 24, beyond the tipof the how 7 of the boat 6. At the overhanging end of arm 14 is theelongated hole 21, which hole not only permits passage of anchor rope 23therethrough but also the anchor shank 22 up to the hilt of circularfluke 24 of the anchor. A rope pulley 25 is rotatably mounted to theextending end of pulley arm 15 by means of shaft 13 as shown. It is thusapparent that the shaft 12, pulley arm 15, anchor arm 14, pulley 25 andpulley 40, all rotate together at all times as an integral part, thisbeing better illustrated by the isometric diagram in FIGURE 3.

When in its upright position, pulley arm 15 extends vertically throughthe forward part of door opening 26 in deck 8, as better illustrated inFIG. 2, a suitable door 37, hinged at its rear side 28, closes thisopening automatically when the anchor is pulled below deck 8 and opensit automatically when the anchor is cast out. A flat spring 38, attachedto the underside of door 37 assists in accomplishing this action asindicated by the curved dotted lines. The open door is shown leaning bygravity. against the pilot house but it is apparent that various knownfittings may be used to hold the door in secure open position until theincoming anchor causes it to close. A fixed rope pulley 27 is rotatablymounted to that part of the boat 6, below deck 8, where it is desired tohave the tip of the anchor shank 22 rest when the anchor is hauled intothe boat. A pulley 40 is also secured to rotatable shaft 12, one end ofthe wire rope 41 being attached to the circumferential edge of pulley 40at 42 while the other end of rope 41 is attached to helical spring 43 at44, the other end of helical spring 43 being attached to loop 45attached to any convenient place inside of boat 6. A pin depends fromanchor arm 14, this pin automatically fitting into socket '61, which issunk into the tip of the bow 7 of the boat, when the anchor is cast,thus preventing side strain on the arm 14 due to yawing of the anchoredboat due to wind and waves. It will be particularly noted thathorizontally extending anchor arm 14 is welded to pulley arm 15 abovedeck 8 while in anchor casting position, thus creating an offset aroundshaft 12 and causing the arm 14 to swing below the deck 8 at a halfrevolution of shaft 12 in the direction of arrow as indicated by thedotted lines.

The operation of this anchor mechanism is as follows: the full lines inthe illustrations indicate the anchor in the process of manipulationeither during casting out or hauling in while the dotted lines show theanchor and mechanism stowed under the deck with the door 26 in closedposition overhead and the deck 8 completely clear of the customarycluttering up of the anchor and anchor ropes, leaving the deck for theunobstructed use of passengers or work of any kind. As here indicated,the rope 23 is being pulled in the direction of arrow 34 onto the reel10 in pilot house 9. The tip of anchor shank 22 has already arrived atthe outer tip of projecting anchor arm 14 and the shank 22 of the anchoris about to enter elongated hole 21, following rope 23 and beads 46 andto be pulled into position indicated by dotted lines 24B, the elongatedhole 21 permitting some angular positioning of shank 22, the slighttension still existing in helical spring 43 tending to keep anchor arm14 in horizontal position until the circular anchor fluke 24 contactsthe end of anchor arm 14, whereupon the anchor arm is caused to describethe circular arc 50. Towards the end of its travel, the edge of thecircular fluke 24 will contact the protruding upper end of flat spring38 attached to underside of door 37, the anchor now being illustrated atposition shown by dotted lines 24C. The flat spring 38 will benddownward slightly as shown by dotted lines and yet be sufliciently rigidto cause the cover 37 to tip forward and descend, and cover opening 26as indicated by dotted lines and the are 51. The anchor has thus beenpulled completely into and through hole 26 and now occupies theupside-down position indicated by dotted lines 24D, the fluke resting inan upside-down position at the end of horizontally disposed anchor :arm14 while pulley arm 15 is in a vertical position extending downwardsfrom slot 12 as shown. This action has taken place under continuouslyincreasing tension of helical spring 43, due to the partial revolutionof wire rope pulley 40. However, due to the pawl 32 contacting ratchetteeth 31, attached to reel 10, the anchor remains in place Withoutfurther pull on rope 23.

In order to cast the anchor into the water, the reverse motion takesplace, the operator merely lifting the pawl 32 from teeth 31 thuscausing the tension of spring 43 to rotate shaft 12 one-half revolution,lifting the anchor through are 50, the circular edge of the anchor fluke24 contacting underside flat spring 38 during this process and firstopening door 37 into position shown, before dropping into the water, thepulley 25 also contacting rope 23, and finally assuming position shownby full lines, the rope 23 also unwinding from reel 10 as required.

It will be apparent that, in order to accomplish the foregoing operationsuccessfully, all the components, such as the hollow anchor shank, whichenables the anchor rope to be secured to the anchor therein, the roundedtip of the anchor shank 22, the beads 46, the integral quadrant arms 14and 15, the offset arm 14 in relation to the below deck transverse shaft12, and the manipulation of the cover 37 by anchor fluke 24, all combineto create the practical operation of this mechanism.

While I have illustrated the anchor rope 23 being manually wound upon areel, it will be understood that an electric motor and controls may beused such as illustrated in my previous patent application, Serial#397,192, in FIG. 8, or the end of the mp 23 may be simply wound arounda clea-t against the tension of helical spring 43 and tied, theloosening of this rope therefrom causing the anchor to be cast into thewater as previously described, the door 37 being simultaneouslymanipulated automatically.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that I have evolved aboat anchor and manipulating means therefor which will operateautomatically by merely pushing a button or turning a wheel or looseninga rope, leaving the deck free and clear of the usual anchor and anchorropesand enabling the deck to be used for the enjoyment of passengers orto more effectively do work thereon as well as to eliminate theindividual labor of handling the anchor.

Various changes may be made in the embodiment of the inventionhereinabove specifically described without departing from or sacrificingthe advantages of the invention as defined in the claims appendedhereto.

I claim:

1. In a boat anchor hoist, a boat having a deck, an opening in the deckat the bow of the boat, an anchor hoisting means attached to said deckat the forward part of said deck opening, an anchor and an anchor rope,one end of said rope being attached to said anchor, means for exertingpull to the other end of said anchor rope, said pulling means onto saidrope causing said anchor and said anchor hoisting means to rotate in anarc of 180 degrees and both said anchor and said anchor hoisting meansbe deposited through said opening in said deck below the surface of saiddeck in said boat, and a cover for said deck opening, means on saidcover for actuating said cover by said hoisting mechanism, the operationof depositing said anchor through said deck opening simultaneouslyactuating said cover into a closed position over said deck opening.

2. In a boat anchor hoist as in claim 1, and a spring attached to saidanchor hoisting means, said spring being caused to increasingly load assaid anchor is swung through said are of 180 degrees by the pull of saidrope,

means for retaining said rope taut against the reverse pull of saidspring, and means for releasing said rope retaining means to cause saidanchor hoisting means to reverse its previous motion by the tension ofsaid spring and cast said anchor into the water and simultaneously openaforesaid cover over said deck opening to permit said anchor andhoisting means to pass therethrough.

3. In a boat anchor hoist as in claim 1, the said anchor hoistingmechanism comprising a short transverse shaft rotatably mountedunderneath the deck at the forward edge of said deck opening, avertically disposed pulley arm attached to said transverse shaft themajor part of said vertical arm extending through said deck opening whensaid anchor is cast out, a rope pulley at the upper end of said pulleyarm, and a horizontally disposed anchor arm, one end of said anchor armbeing rigidly attached to said pulley arm flush with the upper surfaceof said deck and the other end thereof extending partly over the prow ofthe boat, an elliptical opening at the extended end of said anchor arm,said elliptical opening being adapted to pass the said anchor ropetherethrough and to receive the shank of said anchor up to the flukethereof when said anchor is being hauled aboard, a spring, said springbeing continuously tensioned, to cast the anchor overboard, the saidrope also passing over said pulley to a pulling means and causing saidtransverse shaft to swing in an arc of 180 degrees against the tensionof said spring when said anchor is hauled aboard, the said anchorhoisting mechanism by virtue of its offset position in relation to saidtransverse shaft being caused to pass through said deck opening togetherwith said anchor in an upsideinto a closed position over said deckopening.

4. In a boat anchor-hoist, an anchor having an upstanding shank, ananchor rope, a reel, one end of said anchor rope being attached to saidanchor shank'and the other end of said rope attached to said reel, meansfor rotating said reel, an opening in said deck at the bow of a boat, ahinged door covering said opening, a short transversely mountedrotatable shaft below said deck at the forward edge of said deckopening, a vertically disposed pulley arm, a horizontally disposedanchor arm having its inboard end attached to said pulley arm flush withthe deck of said boat and being provided with an elongated holesufficiently large to pass said anchor rope and anchor shanktherethrough to the fluke of said anchor, a rope pulley attached to saidshort transverse shaft, a helical spring, a rope connection between saidrope pulley and one end of said helical spring, and means for attachingthe other end of said helical spring to the inside of said boat, thesaid helical spring being under continual tension and adapted to projectsaid anchor upwards through said deck opening, automatically openingsaid hinged door and casting said anchor into the water when the saidreel is permitted to unwind.

5. In a boat anchor-hoist as in claim 4, the said anchor arm beingattached at right angles to said pulley arm between said transverserotatable shaft and said pulley thereon to cause said anchor arm toswing below the deck through said deck opening when said rotatabletransverse shaft is rotated degrees towards the rear of the boat.

6. In a boat-anchor-hoist as in claim 4, the said hinged cover for saiddeck opening being provided with means for contacting the said anchorwhen said anchor is hauled into the :boat through said opening and toautomatically close said cover over said opening as said anchor is fullyretracted, and to automatically open said cover when said anchor is castoverboard.

7. A boat anchor hoist with means for manipulating same at a distancefrom the bow of the boat, a deck on the bow of the boat, an anchorhaving a hollow shank, an anchor rope, one end of said rope beingadapted to enter the hollow shank and being attached to said anchor, ashort shaft, bearings for said shaft, the said shaft being mountedtransversely close below said deck near the tip of the bow of the boat,an opening in said deck, said opening extending aft of said shaftmounting, a vertically extending pulley arm having one end thereofpermanently attached to said transverse shaft, a pulley at the other endof said vertically extending pulley arm, a horizontally disposed anchorarm, said anchor arm having one end thereof permanently attached to saidvertically extending pulley arm while the other end thereof extendsoutboard over the bow of the boat, a helical spring, a pulley attachedto said short transverse shaft, one end of said helical spring beingattached to a convenient inner part of said boat whilethe other end ofsaid spring is attached to said pulley and adapted to continually exerttension thereon to hold said anchor arm in an outboard position downwardover the bow of said boat, a reel, one end of said anchor rope beingattached to said reel, means for rotating said reel and retaining saidrope against unwinding from said reel, a pulley attached to the insideof said boat below said deck opening, a hinged door over said opening,the other end of said rope passing over said inside pulley and thepulley at the end of said pulley armand through a chamfered hole at theouter end of said anchor arm to. said anchor, the said anchor beingadapted to be pulled into said opening and to automatically close saidhinged door as said anchor is being hauled through said opening by apull on said rope.

8. A boat anchor hoist as in claim 7, the shank tip terminating at theaforesaid inside pulley when said anchor is fully hauled into the boat.

9. Aboat anchor hoist as in claim 4, and a socket, a pin adapted tosnugly fit into said socket the said socket being recessed verticallyinto the prow of the boat directly underneath the anchor arm when saidanchor arm is extending outboard and the said depending pinbeing securedto the lower side of said anchor arm and adapted to register with saidsocket when said anchor arm is flush with the deck.

10. An anchor hoist adapted to be mounted :below the deck of a boat atthe bow of the boat, an opening in the deck adjacent the said hoist, ahinged cover for said opening, the said anchor hoist comprising ahorizontally disposed rearwardly extending anchor arm pivoted at theforward end thereof under normal anchor retracted position, said pivotbeing at the forward edge of said deck opening, said anchor arm beingprovided with an aperture at its extreme rearward end for the passage ofan anchor rope and the reception of an anchor shank up to the flukethereof and adapted to hold said anchor downward in an upside-downposition by said anchor rope against the tension of spring means, theloosening of said anchor rope permitting said spring means to cause saidrearwardly extending horizontally disposed anchor arm below said deck toswing in an arc of 180 degrees to a forwardly overboard extendinghorizontal position and cast said anchor into the Water beyond the prowof said boat.

11. An anchor hoist as in claim 10, the said 180 degree traverse of saidanchor simultaneously contacting the underside of said hinged cover oversaid deck opening and causing said cover to remain open until saidanchor is hauled into the boat by a reverse motion of said mechanism bymeans of pulling said anchor rope into said boat and causing said anchorto close said cover over said deck opening as said anchor is pulledbelow deck.

12. An anchor hoist as in claim 10, and a vertically disposed pulleyguide arm, one end of said pulley arm being irremovably attached to saidanchor arm at the pivot thereof.

13. In a boat anchor hoist as in claim 4, the said anchor arm and thesaid pulley arm being permanently attached at right angles to each otherand adapted to swing in unison and alinement with each other togetherwith said transverse shaft.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,506,893 5/1950Rogers 114-210 3,071,097 1/1963 DoWl'elio 114-210 3,106,180 10/1963 Rice114210 MILTON BUCHLER, Primary Examiner.

T. M. BLIX, Assistant Examiner.

1. IN A BOAT ANCHOR HOIST, A BOAT HAVING A DECK, AN OPENING IN THE DECKAT THE BOW OF THE BOAT, AN ANCHOR HOISTING MEANS ATTACHED TO SAID DECKAT THE FORWARD PART OF SAID DECK OPENING, AN ANCHOR AND AN ANCHOR ROPE,ONE END OF SAID ROPE BEING ATTACHED TO SAID ANCHOR, MEANS FOR EXERTINGPULL TO THE OTHER END OF SAID ANCHOR ROPE, SAID PULLING MEANS ONTO SAIDROPE CAUSING SAID ANCHOR AND SAID ANCHOR HOISTING MEANS TO ROTATE IN ANARC OF 180 DEGREES AND BOTH SAID ANCHOR AND SAID ANCHOR HOISTING MEANSBE DEPOSITED THROUGH SAID OPENING IN SAID DECK BELOW THE SURFACE OF SAIDDECK IN SAID BOAT, AND COVER FOR SAID DECK OPENING, MEANS ON SAID COVERFOR ACTUATING SAID COVER BY SAID HOISTING MECHANISM, THE OPERATION OFDEPOSITING SAID ANCHOR THROUGH SAID DECK OPENING SIMULTANEOUSLYACTUATING SAID COVER INTO A CLOSED POSITION OVER SAID DECK OPENING.